JP2012165043A - Radio communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio communication device that performs a plurality of radio communications using the same frequency band and having different specifications, and that prevents deterioration in communication quality and communication speed due to communication interference while suppressing reduction in throughput and generation of a frame loss.SOLUTION: A radio communication device (100) comprises: a first radio communication unit (1) for performing a first radio communication using a first frequency band; and a second radio communication unit (2) for performing a second radio communication using a second frequency band, at least a part of which overlaps with the first frequency band. By analyzing a communication status signal (502) indicating a signal pattern corresponding to a communication status of the second radio communication, the first radio communication unit determines whether the second radio communication is a synchronous communication or not. When it is the synchronous communication as a result of the determination, data is transmitted/received during a non-communication period while the synchronous communication is not performed in synchronization with communication timing of the synchronization communication.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus, and more particularly to a technique that is effective when applied to a wireless communication apparatus capable of a plurality of wireless communications with different standards.

  Conventionally, in a plurality of wireless communications using different standards using the same frequency band, there are the following methods as techniques for preventing deterioration of communication quality and communication speed due to communication collision and interference. First, as a physical avoidance method, for example, a method of dividing a frequency band and using different channels (FDM (Frequency Division Multiplex)), a method of assigning different spreading codes at the same frequency and the same time, and multiplexing communication ( CDDM (Code Division Multiplex). Second, as a probabilistic and dynamic avoidance method, for example, transmission control using a frequency hopping method (AFH (Adaptive Frequency Hopping)) in the same frequency band, carrier sense (CCA (Clear Channel Assessment)) before radio communication is used. There is a method to do.

  As another effective method, there is a method of avoiding power interference by increasing the distance between the antennas of each wireless communication. However, due to the recent miniaturization of communication terminals, there are many cases where the distance between the antennas cannot be sufficiently separated in the communication terminal. In such a case, even if the frequency band of each wireless communication is sufficiently separated, There is a possibility that communication quality and communication speed cannot be maintained due to power interference between antennas at a distance. In particular, in a sound source receiving device that receives data such as voice and music, the quality is greatly deteriorated depending on the communication status of other wireless devices, and there is a high possibility that stable conversation and listening to music will be difficult. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for avoiding interference between communications of different standards.

  The technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 is a technique for transmitting data and a Bluetooth wireless system using an IEEE 802.11 wireless system in a single communication apparatus capable of communicating with an IEEE 802.11 wireless system and a Bluetooth (registered trademark, the same applies hereinafter) wireless system. The data transmission according to is executed in a time-sharing manner.

JP 2001-217853 A

  However, if communication is performed uniformly in a time-sharing manner as in Patent Document 1, communication interference can be prevented, but a decrease in throughput is caused. Further, according to the idea of the inventor as another interference prevention method, for example, when a communication control method that always gives priority to wireless communication requiring high quality such as voice and music is adopted, Although it is possible to prevent the occurrence of frame loss due to interference, etc., if the wireless communication side that requires high quality requires communication, the other wireless communication side is forced to interrupt the communication. There is a possibility that frame loss occurs in wireless communication, and the communication quality of the other wireless communication deteriorates.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress deterioration in communication quality and communication speed due to communication interference while suppressing a decrease in throughput and occurrence of frame loss in a wireless communication apparatus that performs a plurality of wireless communications with different standards.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  The following is a brief description of an outline of typical inventions disclosed in the present application.

  That is, the first wireless communication unit for performing the first wireless communication using the first frequency band and the second wireless communication for performing the second wireless communication using the second frequency band. The first wireless communication unit analyzes a communication state signal indicating a signal pattern according to a communication state of the second wireless communication, which is output from the second wireless communication unit. Thus, it is determined whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication. If the determination result is synchronous communication, the synchronous communication is synchronized with the communication timing of the synchronous communication. Data is transmitted and received during a non-communication period when communication is not performed.

  The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, the wireless communication apparatus can suppress deterioration in communication quality and communication speed due to communication interference while suppressing a decrease in throughput and occurrence of frame loss in a plurality of wireless communications with different standards.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a radio communication terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example (two lines) of a connection method between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example (three lines) of a connection method between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an internal configuration of the wireless communication terminal 100. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a communication environment for WLAN communication. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing for determining the communication environment of WLAN communication. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a communication state of the wireless device 2 in the BT communication. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the communication status signal 502 output from the wireless device 2. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a signal pattern of synchronous communication. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication state determination process of the wireless device 2. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method for adjusting the data transmission timing of the wireless device 1. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of data transmission timing when communication between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 is performed in a time-sharing manner. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control method for performing communication between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 in a time-sharing manner. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication control method according to the communication state and priority of the wireless device 2. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of data transmission timing by communication control according to the communication state and priority of the wireless device 2.

1. First, an outline of a typical embodiment of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described. Reference numerals in the drawings referred to in parentheses in the outline description of the representative embodiments merely exemplify what are included in the concept of the components to which the reference numerals are attached.

[1] (Wireless communication apparatus that determines communication pattern (synchronization) and performs communication control)
A wireless communication device (100) according to a representative embodiment of the present invention includes a first wireless communication unit (1) for performing first wireless communication (WLAN communication) using a first frequency band. And a second wireless communication unit (2) for performing second wireless communication (BT communication) using the second frequency band. The second wireless communication unit transmits and receives data by the second wireless communication, and outputs a communication state signal (502) indicating a signal pattern according to a communication state of the second wireless communication, The first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication by analyzing a signal pattern of the communication state signal, and when the determination result is synchronous communication, Data is transmitted and received in a non-communication period (302) in which communication in the synchronous communication is not performed in synchronization with the communication timing of the synchronous communication.

  In communication of voice data such as music and voice calls that require higher quality communication, a synchronous communication method is mainly employed. Therefore, the wireless communication apparatus according to item 1 determines whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication. If the second wireless communication is synchronous communication, the first wireless communication unit determines whether the second wireless communication is the second wireless communication. By synchronizing with communication, wireless communication is performed during a non-communication period of synchronous communication. As a result, power interference between the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication can be prevented, and occurrence of frame loss and the like due to interference can be prevented. Further, by analyzing the signal pattern of the communication state signal output from the second wireless communication device, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication, and It is possible to synchronize with the communication timing. Further, for example, in the method of performing the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication uniformly in a time-sharing manner, the second wireless communication is performed in a period allocated as the period of the second wireless communication. Although the first wireless communication cannot be performed even if there is not, the wireless communication device according to item 1 detects and synchronizes the communication timing of the synchronous communication of the second wireless communication, and sets the non-communication period. The first wireless communication is assigned as a possible period. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput as compared with a case where communication is performed uniformly in a time division manner.

[2] (Communication control is performed by determining the communication pattern (asynchronous))
The wireless communication device according to Item 1, wherein the first wireless communication unit determines whether the second wireless communication is asynchronous communication by analyzing a signal pattern of the communication state signal, and determines If the result is asynchronous communication, the data transmission / reception mode is determined according to the communication environment with the first wireless device (10) that is the communication target of the first wireless communication unit.

  For example, when one wireless communication is performed over a short distance and the other wireless communication is performed over a long distance, the communication performed over a long distance has a large amount of attenuation of the received power. Become bigger. Conversely, when the other wireless communication is performed over a short distance, the amount of attenuation of the received power is small, so even if it receives power interference, the degree of influence tends to be small. Therefore, the wireless communication device according to item 2 determines a communication environment between the first wireless communication unit and the first wireless opposite device, and selects a data transmission / reception mode suitable for the communication environment at that time. can do.

[3] (Determination of communication environment)
In the wireless communication device of Item 2, the first wireless communication unit measures the received signal strength or the received signal quality of the first wireless communication, and the measured received signal strength or received signal quality is less than a predetermined threshold value. If it is larger, it is determined that the communication environment is good, and if not, it is determined that the communication environment is bad.

  According to this, it is possible to easily determine whether the communication environment is good or bad.

[4] (Communication control according to the communication environment during asynchronous communication)
In the wireless communication device according to Item 3, the first wireless communication unit asserts a notification signal (501) when performing the first wireless communication, and the second wireless communication unit receives the notification signal. If so, the second wireless communication is stopped. Furthermore, when the determination result is asynchronous communication and the first wireless communication unit determines that the communication environment is bad, the first wireless communication unit performs time division on the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication. If the notification signal is controlled as described above and the communication environment is determined to be good, data transmission is performed when the second wireless communication is not performed.

  According to this, when the communication environment is bad, for example, when the first wireless communication is performed over a long distance, communication is performed by performing the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication in a time division manner. It is possible to reduce the occurrence of frame loss by avoiding the influence of interference. In addition, when the communication environment is good, for example, when the first wireless communication is performed in a short distance, the degree of influence due to power interference tends to be small. By adopting a communication method according to the above, it is possible to perform communication while suppressing a decrease in throughput.

[5] (Transmission from AP is stopped during BT synchronous communication)
In the wireless communication device according to any one of Items 1 to 4, the first wireless communication unit further includes a communication period in the synchronous communication when the determination result is synchronous communication. Instruct to stop data transmission from the device.

  As described above, in the wireless communication device according to Items 1 to 4, when the second wireless communication is synchronous communication, the first wireless communication unit transmits data during a non-communication period of synchronous communication. Send. However, even if data transmission from the first wireless communication unit is stopped during the second wireless communication, data transmission may be performed from the first wireless facing device. May affect wireless communications. Therefore, when the second wireless communication is performed by synchronous communication, not only the data transmission from the first wireless communication unit but also the data transmission from the first wireless facing device is stopped. Thus, communication interference can be prevented.

[6] (If the communication environment is bad during BT asynchronous communication, transmission from the AP is stopped)
The wireless communication device according to any one of Items 2 to 5, wherein the first wireless communication unit further determines that the determination result is asynchronous communication and that the communication environment is bad, When wireless communication is performed, an instruction to stop transmission of data from the first wireless device is instructed.

  As described above, there is a case where data transmission is performed from the first wireless device even during the second wireless communication. In this case, if the communication environment of the first wireless communication is bad, There is a possibility that the first wireless communication unit cannot receive data transmitted from one wireless device. Therefore, by restricting data transmission from the first wireless device in a situation where the communication environment of the first wireless communication is bad, occurrence of a frame loss of transmission data from the first wireless device is prevented. Can be reduced.

[7] (Transmission control by sleep signal)
In the wireless communication device according to Item 5 or 6, the instruction to stop the transmission of the data is a sleep signal (power saving notification) indicating that the first wireless communication unit shifts to a power saving state. This is done by transmitting to the opposite device.

  According to this, it is possible to easily stop data transmission from the first wireless facing device. For example, when the first wireless communication is an IEEE 802.11 standard wireless system, an existing protocol (power saving notification function) may be used, and a new protocol for instructing stop of the data transmission is prepared. There is no need.

[8] (Priority signal)
In the wireless communication device according to any one of Items 3 to 7, the second wireless communication unit further includes a priority signal (503) indicating that the second wireless communication is performed with priority over the first wireless communication. When the determination result is asynchronous communication and the communication environment is good, the first wireless communication unit transmits data when the priority signal is asserted. Not performed.

  According to this, even when the second wireless communication and the first wireless communication compete with each other in a situation where communication control is performed according to the mutual communication state, the second wireless communication Can be prioritized for communication.

[9] (Communication control is performed by determining the communication pattern (congestion state))
The wireless communication device according to any one of Items 2 to 8, wherein the first wireless communication unit is in a state where the second wireless communication is congested before the determination of the synchronous communication and the determination of the asynchronous communication. If the second wireless communication is congested, data transmission / reception is stopped.

[10] (Communication control is performed by determining the communication pattern (unused state))
In the wireless communication device according to any one of Items 1 to 9, the first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is performed, and the second wireless communication is not performed. In this case, data is transmitted / received at a desired timing.

  According to this, in the situation where the second wireless communication is not performed, the first wireless communication unit can perform data transmission / reception at a desired timing. Compared with the method of performing communication at the timing, the throughput does not decrease.

[11] (Signal pattern discrimination method)
In the wireless communication device of item 10, the communication state signal is a digital signal having a first value when communicating and a second value when not communicating. The first wireless communication unit determines that the second wireless communication is not performed when the communication state signal does not reach the first value within a predetermined period, and the predetermined period When the total time of the period in which the communication status signal is the first value is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, it is determined that the second wireless communication is in a congested state, and within the predetermined period, When the same signal pattern based on the period of the first value of the communication state signal and the period of the second value is detected a plurality of times, it is determined that the second wireless communication is synchronous communication. In cases other than the above, it is determined that the second wireless communication is asynchronous communication.

  According to this, the communication state of the second wireless communication can be easily determined.

[12] (Wireless communication device that stops transmission from AP during BT communication (independent))
A wireless communication device (100) according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first wireless communication (WLAN communication) using a first frequency band and at least a part of the first frequency band. Is a wireless communication device that performs second wireless communication (BT communication) using the second frequency band in which the two are overlapped, and when performing the second wireless communication, the communication target by the first wireless communication is An instruction to stop data transmission from a certain wireless device (10) is given.

  According to this, as described above, since communication in a situation where frame loss of transmission data from the first radio facing device is likely to occur is limited, the first radio communication interference causes the first data It is possible to reduce the occurrence of a frame loss of transmission data from the wireless device, and to prevent interference due to data transmission from the first wireless device to the second wireless communication.

[13] (Transmission control by sleep signal)
In the wireless communication device according to Item 12, the instruction to stop the transmission of data is performed by transmitting a sleep signal (power saving notification) indicating transition to the power saving state to the wireless facing device.

  According to this, similarly to the item 7, it is possible to easily stop data transmission from the first wireless device.

[14] (Wireless communication device that determines the communication pattern and performs communication control (independent))
A wireless communication device (100) according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first wireless communication unit (1) for performing first wireless communication (WLAN communication) using a first frequency band. ) And a second wireless communication unit (2) for performing second wireless communication (BT communication) using a second frequency band in which at least a part of the first frequency band overlaps. The second wireless communication unit performs data transmission / reception by the second wireless communication, and is a first value when communicating and a second value when not communicating. A status signal (502) is output. Further, the first wireless communication unit analyzes a signal pattern of the communication state signal within a predetermined period, and if the communication state signal does not become the first value within the predetermined period, the first wireless communication unit If the total time of the period in which the communication state signal is the first value during the predetermined period is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the second wireless communication is When it is determined that the state is congested, and the same signal pattern based on the period of the first value and the period of the second value of the communication state signal is detected a plurality of times within the predetermined period. It is determined that the second wireless communication is synchronous communication. In other cases, it is determined that the second wireless communication is asynchronous communication, and the operation mode of data transmission / reception is determined according to the determination result. decide.

  According to this, the communication state of the second wireless communication can be easily determined, and the operation mode of data transmission / reception in the first wireless communication can be easily determined.

[15] (Determination of communication environment)
Item 14. The wireless communication device according to Item 14, wherein the first wireless communication unit measures the received signal strength or received signal quality of the first wireless communication and determines the received signal when the first wireless communication unit determines that the asynchronous communication is performed. When the strength or the received signal quality is larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the communication environment is good, and otherwise, it is determined that the communication environment is bad.

  According to this, it is possible to easily determine whether the communication environment is good or bad, and it is possible to easily change the operation mode according to the communication environment.

[16] (Resumption of data transmission from AP by notification of cancellation of power saving)
The wireless communication device according to any one of Items 7 to 11, wherein the first wireless communication unit starts communication by transmitting a signal notifying power saving cancellation to the first wireless opposite device. .

  According to this, it is possible to easily restart communication from the first wireless facing device to the wireless communication device.

[17] (Resumption of data transmission from AP by frame acquisition request)
The wireless communication device according to any one of Items 7 to 11, wherein the first wireless communication unit starts communication by transmitting a signal for requesting frame acquisition to the first wireless opposite device. To do.

  According to this, it is possible to easily restart communication from the first wireless facing device to the wireless communication device.

[18] (Second frequency band in which at least part of the first frequency overlaps)
A wireless communication device (100) according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a first wireless communication unit for performing first wireless communication using a first frequency band, and the first wireless communication unit. A second wireless communication unit configured to perform second wireless communication using a second frequency band in which at least a part of the frequency bands overlap. The second wireless communication unit transmits and receives data by the second wireless communication, and outputs a communication state signal (502) indicating a signal pattern according to a communication state of the second wireless communication, The first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication by analyzing a signal pattern of the communication state signal, and when the determination result is synchronous communication, Data is transmitted and received in a non-communication period (302) in which communication in the synchronous communication is not performed in synchronization with the communication timing of the synchronous communication.

  According to this, similarly to the item 1, it is possible to prevent power interference between the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication, and it is possible to prevent occurrence of frame loss and the like due to interference. In addition, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication, and to synchronize with the communication timing. Furthermore, according to the wireless communication device of item 18, as in item 1, a decrease in throughput can be suppressed as compared to a case where communication is performed uniformly in a time division manner.

2. Details of Embodiments Embodiments will be further described in detail.

<< Embodiment 1 >>
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a radio communication terminal according to Embodiment 1.

  A wireless communication terminal 100 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “terminal”) shown in FIG. 1 is a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, for example, and includes first wireless communication using a predetermined frequency band, Second wireless communication using the frequency band is performed. The frequency bands used by each of the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication may be different frequency bands, may be adjacent to each other, or may be at least a part of the frequency bands. The frequency bands may overlap. Here, for example, the first wireless communication is IEEE802.11 standard wireless communication using the 2.4 GHz band (hereinafter also referred to as “WLAN communication”), and the second wireless communication is the same as in 2. This will be described as IEEE 802.15 standard wireless communication using the 4 GHz band (hereinafter also referred to as “Bluetooth (BT) communication”).

  The terminal 100 includes a wireless device 1 and a wireless device 2. The wireless device 1 performs WLAN communication with a wireless opposite device (Access Point (AP)) 10 installed within a communicable range via the antenna 3. On the other hand, the wireless device 2 performs BT communication with the wireless facing device 20 installed within a communicable range via the antenna 4. The radio facing device 20 is, for example, a wireless headphone.

  The wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 are arranged adjacent to each other in the terminal 100, and the wireless devices 1 and 2 are connected by a signal line 5. There are two types of connection methods for the wireless devices 1 and 2, for example, a two-wire control method connected by two signal lines and a three-wire control method connected by three signal lines.

  2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of a connection method between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2.

  FIG. 2 shows a case where the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 are connected by two signal lines. In FIG. 3, the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 are connected by three signal lines. Is shown.

  When the two signal lines are connected as shown in FIG. 2, for example, the output port 15 of the wireless device 1 and the input port 24 of the wireless device 2 are connected by the signal line 501, and the wireless device is connected to the signal line 501. A signal indicating the communication state of one WLAN communication (hereinafter referred to as “communication state signal 501”) is output. Further, the output port 25 of the wireless device 2 and the input port 14 of the wireless device 1 are connected by a signal line 502, and a signal indicating a communication state of BT communication of the wireless device 2 (hereinafter referred to as “communication state signal 502”). Is output.). Through these connections, the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 can know the communication status of each other.

  On the other hand, when three signal lines are connected as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the connection by the signal lines 501 and 502 described above, the output port 26 of the wireless device 2 and the input port 16 of the wireless device 1 are signaled. A signal indicating the priority of the BT communication of the wireless device 2 (hereinafter referred to as “priority signal 503”) is output to the signal line 503. The priority signal 503 is a digital signal indicating low priority and high priority, and is used in priority control described later. In the following description, as an example, the terminal 100 will be described assuming that the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 are connected by a three-wire control method.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the internal configuration of the terminal 100.

  The wireless device 1 (WLAN) includes a state monitoring unit 12, a communication control unit 13, and an RF unit 11. The state monitoring unit 12 and the communication control unit 13 are functional units realized by, for example, a microprocessor that executes program processing, and are realized by, for example, an LSI for baseband processing.

  The state monitoring unit 12 inputs a priority signal 503 output to the signal line 503 by the wireless device 2 and a communication state signal 502 output to the signal line 502, and determines the communication state of the wireless device 2 based on the input signal. It discriminates and gives the discrimination result to the communication control unit 13. Details of the determination method will be described later.

  The communication control unit 13 includes, for example, a transmission / reception control unit 132, a usage status notification unit 131, and a communication environment measurement unit 133. Under the control of the transmission / reception control unit 132, the usage status notification unit 131 outputs a communication status signal 501 indicating the communication status of WLAN communication by the wireless device 1. The communication status signal 501 is a digital signal. For example, when the wireless device 1 performs WLAN communication, the signal level is set to high (High), and when the wireless communication is not performed, the signal level is set to low ( Low).

  The communication environment measuring unit 134 measures the received signal strength or the received signal quality for each frame received via the antenna 3, and determines the communication environment of the WLAN communication based on the measured received signal strength or received signal quality. The communication environment between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 10 is monitored. The received signal strength is an index representing the magnitude of the received signal including, for example, noise. If the frame signal expected to be received is strong, reception is possible even if there is noise. Even with only noise, the received signal strength is high. The same applies to not only noise but also interference signals. The received signal quality is an index representing the signal quality of a desired frame, and is represented by, for example, a ratio of a frame signal expected to be received to a noise signal (SNR: Signal to Noise ratio). Even if the frame signal is weak, reception is possible if the noise is weak. In addition to SNR, there are SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio), D / U ratio, and the like.

  FIG. 5 illustrates the types of determination of the communication environment of WLAN communication.

  As shown in the figure, the communication environment between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 10 is roughly divided into two types, for example, short distance and long distance. In general, the received signal strength or the received signal quality or communication quality is inversely proportional to the communication distance. Therefore, here, when the received signal strength or received signal quality is high, it is set as a short distance, and when the received signal strength or received signal quality is low. Suppose that it is a long distance.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing for determining the communication environment of WLAN communication.

  First, the communication environment measuring unit 134 acquires received data for each frame from the RF unit 11 via the antenna 3 (S201). The communication environment measuring unit 134 measures the received signal strength or the received signal quality based on the acquired received data (S202). And it is discriminate | determined whether the measured received signal strength or received signal quality is larger than a predetermined threshold value (S203). When the received signal strength or the received signal quality is larger than the predetermined threshold, the communication environment measuring unit 134 determines that the communication environment of WLAN communication is a short distance (S204). On the other hand, when the received signal strength or the received signal quality is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the communication environment measuring unit 134 determines that the communication environment of WLAN communication is a long distance (S205).

  The transmission / reception control unit 132 controls transmission / reception of data via the antenna 3 and the RF unit 11 based on the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 by the state monitoring unit 12 and the communication environment measurement result by the communication environment measurement unit 133. At the same time, the communication of the wireless device 2 is controlled by controlling the usage status notification unit 131. Details of communication control by the transmission / reception control unit 132 will be described later.

  The RF unit 11 receives a reception signal from the antenna 3, converts the input reception signal into a frequency and amplitude that can be processed by the communication control unit 13 in the subsequent stage, and outputs the converted signal. In addition, the transmission signal generated by the communication control unit 13 is converted into a frequency and amplitude that can be transmitted by the antenna 3 and output. The RF unit 11 may be, for example, a single-chip RFIC (Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits), or may be configured as a one-chip system LSI including the state monitoring unit 12 and the baseband unit of the communication control unit 13. Good.

  The wireless device 2 includes a state monitoring unit 22, a communication control unit 23, and an RF unit 21. The state monitoring unit 22 and the communication control unit 23 are functional units realized by, for example, a microprocessor that executes program processing, and are realized by, for example, an LSI for baseband processing.

  The state monitoring unit 22 receives the communication state signal 501 output from the wireless device 1 and determines whether the wireless device 1 is communicating based on the input signal. For example, when the communication state signal 501 is high, it is determined that the wireless device 1 is communicating, and when the communication state signal 501 is low, it is determined that the wireless device 1 is not communicating. The determination result is given to the communication control unit 23.

  The communication control unit 23 includes, for example, a transmission / reception control unit 232, a usage status notification unit 231, and a priority notification unit 233. The usage status notification unit 231 outputs a communication status signal 502 indicating the communication status of the BT communication by the wireless device 2 under the control of the transmission / reception control unit 232. The communication status signal 502 is output, for example, at an earlier timing (for example, several μs earlier) than the actual communication start timing. Details of the communication status signal 502 will be described later.

  The priority notification unit 233 outputs a priority signal 503 requesting that the BT communication by the wireless device 2 be performed with priority over the WLAN communication under the control of the transmission / reception control unit 232. The priority signal 503 is, for example, high priority when high (High), and indicates that priority communication of BT communication is requested. The priority signal 503 is used in communication control based on priority, which will be described later.

  The transmission / reception control unit 232 controls the transmission of data via the antenna 4 and the RF unit 21 based on the determination result by the state monitoring unit 22, and controls the usage status notification unit 231 and the priority notification unit 233. The communication status signal 502 and the priority signal 503 are output. For example, the transmission / reception control unit 232 does not perform BT communication when the wireless device 1 is communicating, and performs BT communication at a desired timing when the wireless device 1 is not communicating.

  The RF unit 21 receives a reception signal from the antenna 4, converts the input reception signal into a frequency and an amplitude that can be processed by the communication control unit 23 in the subsequent stage, and outputs the frequency and amplitude, and is generated by the communication control unit 23. The transmission signal is converted into a frequency and amplitude that can be transmitted by the antenna 4 and output. The RF unit 21 may be, for example, a one-chip RFIC, similar to the RF unit 11 described above, or may be configured as a one-chip system LSI including the state monitoring unit 22 and the baseband unit of the communication control unit 23. May be.

  Here, a method for determining the communication state of the BT communication by the state monitoring unit 12 of the wireless device 1 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a communication state of the wireless device 2 in the BT communication.

  As shown in the figure, the communication state of the BT communication is classified into four types of states, for example, an unused state, a congestion state, a synchronous communication, and an asynchronous communication. The unused state is a state in which BT communication is not performed in the wireless device 2. The congestion state is a state in which BT communication is frequently performed in the wireless device 2 and communication is congested. Synchronous communication is a state in which synchronous communication is performed in which communication is performed with a constant period and a constant time width. Asynchronous communication is not synchronous communication and is not frequently performed so as to be congested, but communication is being performed.

  The four states are determined by the state monitoring unit 12 analyzing the communication state signal 502.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the communication status signal 502 output from the wireless device 2.

  As shown in the figure, the communication status signal 502 is output as a digital signal, the high section indicates that BT communication is being performed, and the BT communication is not performed in the low section. Represents. For example, the state monitoring unit 12 acquires statistics of the rising and falling changes of the communication state signal 502 within a predetermined time T1, and determines the communication state of the wireless device 2 based on the acquired statistical information. The measurement of the statistical information every time T1 is performed n (n is an integer of 1 or more) times. The statistical information acquired by the state monitoring unit 12 is stored in a storage area such as a memory (not shown), for example. Here, for ease of explanation, a specific determination method will be described in detail with the number of times of measurement n = 1.

  For example, if there is no change in the rising edge of the communication state signal 502 within the time T1, and there is no high section, it is determined that it is not in use. Further, if the total time during which the signal level is high at time T1 exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the traffic is congested. The predetermined threshold is not particularly limited, but is, for example, a time that is 80% of the time T1.

  If the communication status signal 502 is a synchronous communication signal pattern at time T1, it is determined that the communication is a synchronous communication. FIG. 9 shows an example of a signal pattern for synchronous communication. As shown in the figure, in synchronous communication, a signal pattern having the same period (I1 + I2) and high period I1 is repeated. Therefore, the state monitoring unit 12 determines the synchronism based on the high interval I1 from the rising edge to the falling edge of the communication state signal 502 and the low interval I2 from the falling edge to the next rising edge. That is, when a signal pattern having the same high section (I1) and the same period (I1 + I2) is detected m (m is an integer of 2 or more) times, it is determined that BT communication is synchronous communication. .

  If none of the three states is applicable, the state monitoring unit 12 determines asynchronous communication.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication state determination process of the wireless device 2.

  The state monitoring unit 12 starts measuring the communication state signal 502 and acquires the statistical information of the communication state signal 502 for a predetermined time T1 (S101). And it is discriminate | determined whether the frequency | count of measurement became n times (S102), and when not measuring n times, it measures again and acquires statistical information. When the number of times of measurement is n, the acquired statistical information is analyzed to determine whether or not there is a high section within time T1 (S103). If it is determined that there is no high section, the state monitoring unit 12 determines that the wireless device 2 is not in use (S104). On the other hand, when it is determined in step 103 that there is a high section, the state monitoring unit 12 determines whether the total time of the high section exceeds the predetermined threshold (S105). If the total time of the high section exceeds the predetermined threshold, the state monitoring unit 12 determines that the BT communication is in a congested state (S106). On the other hand, when the total time of the high section does not exceed the predetermined threshold value in step 105, the state monitoring unit 12 determines whether or not there is a signal pattern for synchronous communication (S107). When the signal pattern of the synchronous communication is detected by the method described above, the state monitoring unit 12 determines that the BT communication is the synchronous communication (S108). On the other hand, when the signal pattern of the synchronous communication is not detected, the state monitoring unit 12 determines that the BT communication is asynchronous communication (S109).

  Next, a communication control method by the communication control unit 13 will be described.

  As described above, the transmission / reception control unit 132 in the communication control unit 13 controls data transmission / reception and communication of the wireless device 2 based on the determination result of the BT communication by the state monitoring unit 12. The specific control method according to the determination result of BT communication is as follows.

(1) When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 is an unused state When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 is an unused state, the transmission / reception control unit 132 performs WLAN communication at a desired timing. In other words, in this case, even if WLAN communication is performed, the BT communication is not affected or affected, so the wireless device 2 performs communication at a timing at which communication is desired.

(2) When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 is congested When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 is congested, the transmission / reception control unit 132 does not perform WLAN communication. When the communication state of the wireless device 2 is congested, BT communication must occupy the communication. In this situation, if the WLAN communication and the BT communication are controlled to be performed in a time-sharing manner, the throughput of the BT communication is lowered and is not appropriate. Therefore, the transmission / reception control unit 132 does not perform WLAN communication until the congestion state of BT communication is resolved.

(3) When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 is synchronous communication When the determination result of the communication state by the wireless device 2 is synchronous communication, the transmission / reception control unit 132 performs non-communication in the synchronous communication of BT communication. The transmission timing of data from the wireless device 1 is adjusted so as to perform WLAN communication during the period, and the transmission timing of data from the wireless device (AP) 10 is adjusted.

  First, adjustment of data transmission timing from the wireless device 1 will be described. FIG. 11 illustrates a method for adjusting the data transmission timing of the wireless device 1.

  In the figure, the upper half of the figure shows the timing of communication in BT communication, and the lower half of the figure shows the timing of communication in WLAN communication. Reference numerals 31 </ b> A and 31 </ b> B represent data transmitted from the radio apparatus 2, and reference numerals 32 </ b> A and 32 </ b> B represent data transmitted from the radio facing apparatus 20. Reference numerals 33A and 33B represent data transmitted from the wireless device 1, and reference numerals 34A and 34B represent data transmitted from the wireless facing device 10. Further, the reference numerals 301 and 303 are communication periods in the synchronous communication of BT communication, and the reference numerals 302 are non-communication periods in the synchronous communication of BT communication.

  If the determination result received from the state monitoring unit 13 is synchronous communication, as shown in FIG. 11, the transmission / reception control unit 132 detects the communication timing of the synchronous communication and synchronizes with the timing. Control is performed so that WLAN communication is performed during a non-communication period 302 in synchronous communication of BT communication. According to this, compared with a case where WLAN communication and BT communication are uniformly performed in a time division manner, a period during which communication is not performed can be used effectively, and thus a reduction in throughput can be further suppressed.

  The transmission / reception control unit 132 controls the data transmission timing from the wireless device 1 as described above, but also controls the data transmission timing from the wireless device (AP) 10. Control of the transmission timing of data from the wireless device 10 is performed, for example, by transmitting to the wireless device 10 a power saving notification indicating that the wireless device 1 shifts to the power saving state (sleep state).

  Here, the power saving function of the wireless device 1 will be described. The wireless device 1 has a power saving function for shifting to a power saving state when there is no transmission / reception of data for a certain period. The radio facing device (AP) 10 needs to know whether or not the radio device 1 is in a power saving state. The transition to the power saving state of the wireless device 1 and the return from the power saving state are based on, for example, information on the power saving state of the wireless device 1 included in the header of the transmission frame transmitted from the wireless device 1 to the wireless device 10 Be notified. Hereinafter, the notification of the transition to the power saving state based on the information is referred to as a power saving notification, and the return from the power saving state is referred to as a power saving cancellation notification.

  When the wireless device 10 receives the power saving notification from the wireless device 1, the wireless device 10 accumulates data to be transmitted to the wireless device 1 (hereinafter also referred to as a transmission frame) for a time allowed in a buffer or the like in the wireless device 10. . Moreover, the radio | wireless opposing apparatus 10 transmits the beacon frame containing the information for identification with a fixed period (for example, about 100 ms). The beacon frame includes management information indicating whether the wireless device 10 stores the transmission frame of the wireless device 1. Therefore, the wireless device 1 can determine the presence or absence of an accumulated transmission frame addressed to itself by receiving a beacon frame periodically transmitted. Since the transmission time of the beacon frame is sufficiently shorter than the transmission time of user data, the influence of power interference due to the transmission of the beacon frame is small. Further, the management information and other control information included in the beacon frame are not data to be transmitted in response to a request from the user or the like.

  When the wireless device 1 acquires frames stored in the wireless device 10, for example, the wireless device 1 transmits a frame acquisition request to the wireless device 10. As a result, the wireless device 10 is permitted to transmit to the wireless device 1, and the wireless device 10 transmits one stored frame while maintaining the power saving state. When multiple acquisitions are made, multiple frame acquisition requests are made. Alternatively, when the wireless device 1 issues a power saving cancellation notification to the wireless facing device 10 and cancels the power saving state, the wireless facing device 10 transmits all accumulated frames. In addition, if the transmission timing of the beacon frame transmitted from the wireless device 2 at a constant cycle and the synchronous communication timing of the wireless device 1 overlap, the wireless device 2 may not receive the beacon frame, but the beacon frame is constant. Even when the wireless device 2 cannot receive the number of times, the wireless device 2 can confirm the presence / absence of accumulated frames on the wireless device 2 by transmitting a frame acquisition request to the wireless device 2.

  Using this function, the communication control unit 13 transmits a power saving notification to the wireless device 10 when the wireless device 2 starts BT communication, and issues a frame acquisition request when the wireless device 1 starts WLAN communication. Transmit to the wireless device 10. Alternatively, the wireless device 2 transmits a power saving notification to the wireless device 10 when starting BT communication, and transmits the power saving cancellation notification to the wireless device 10 when the wireless device 1 starts WLAN communication. According to this, as shown in FIG. 11, in the periods 301 and 303 in which the wireless device 2 performs BT communication, data transmission from the wireless device 10 is not performed, and data is transmitted in the period 302 in which the wireless device 1 performs WLAN communication. Since transmission is performed, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of frame loss or the like due to power interference due to BT communication in transmission data from the wireless device 10. In particular, in the communication of audio data such as music and audio communication using synchronous communication, higher quality communication is required, and thus the above control method is effective. As described above, it is possible to improve the mutual communication quality during the synchronous communication of the BT communication by grasping the non-communication section of the synchronous communication in the BT communication.

(4) When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless communication device 2 is asynchronous communication When the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 is asynchronous communication, the transmission / reception control unit 132 determines from the state monitoring unit 12 The communication control method is determined according to the notified communication state of the wireless device 2 and the communication environment of the wireless device 1. Specifically, the transmission / reception control unit 132 determines the communication environment of the WLAN communication from the communication environment measurement unit 133 when the determination result of the communication state of the wireless device 2 notified from the state monitoring unit 12 is asynchronous communication. Get the discrimination result. Then, a communication control method is determined depending on whether the communication environment is a short distance or a long distance.

  First, a case where the communication environment is a long distance will be described.

  When the BT communication by the wireless device 2 is asynchronous communication and the communication environment of the WLAN communication is a long distance, the transmission / reception control unit 132 time-divides the BT communication by the wireless device 1 and the WLAN communication by the wireless device 2. Control to do. Hereinafter, the time division control will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

  FIG. 12 is an example of data transmission timing when BT communication by the wireless device 1 and WLAN communication by the wireless device 2 are performed in a time division manner. In the figure, the upper half of the figure shows the timing of communication in BT communication, and the lower half of the figure shows the timing of communication in WLAN communication. Reference numerals 35 </ b> A to 35 </ b> D represent data transmitted from the radio apparatus 1, and reference numerals 36 </ b> A and 36 </ b> B represent data transmitted from the radio facing apparatus 10. Reference numerals 37 </ b> A to 37 </ b> C represent data transmitted from the radio apparatus 2, and reference numerals 38 </ b> A to 38 </ b> C represent data transmitted from the radio facing apparatus 20. Further, the period of reference numeral 304 is a communicable period assigned to WLAN communication in a time division manner, and the period of reference numeral 305 is a communicable period assigned to BT communication in a time division manner.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control method for performing BT communication and WLAN communication in a time-sharing manner.

  When the determination result of the communication environment of the WLAN communication received from the communication environment measurement unit 133 is a short distance, the transmission / reception control unit 132 controls the usage state notification unit 131 at the timing of time t0 in FIG. Then, the communication state signal 501 is asserted, and a frame including a power saving cancellation notification is transmitted to the wireless device 10 (S301). Note that the power saving cancellation notification may be transmitted by including the power saving cancellation notification in the initial transmission frame 35A in FIG. 12, for example. Thereby, the radio | wireless apparatus 2 stops BT communication, and the radio | wireless opposing apparatus 10 can transmit data. Thereafter, WLAN communication is started between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 10 (S302). Then, the WLAN communication is continued until the predetermined time is reached (S303). The predetermined time is the communicable time 304 assigned to the WLAN communication in the time-sharing control. For example, the value is set in advance in a register or the like in the communication control unit 13. Similarly, the value of the communicable time 305 assigned to BT communication is also set in a register or the like. The transmission / reception control unit 132 allocates the communication time of BT communication and WLAN communication in a time division manner by referring to the value of the register or the like.

  The transmission / reception control unit 132 controls the usage state notification unit 131 at the timing of time t1 when the communicable time 304 has elapsed, negates the communication state signal 501, and transmits a frame including the power saving notification to the wireless facing apparatus 10. (S304). Note that the power saving notification may be transmitted by including the power saving notification in the final transmission frame 35D in FIG. 12, for example. Thereby, the radio | wireless apparatus 2 becomes possible for BT communication, and the radio | wireless opposing apparatus 10 stops transmission of data. Thereafter, the wireless device 2 starts BT communication (S305). Meanwhile, the transmission / reception control unit 132 measures the passage of the communicable time 305 assigned to the BT communication (S306). Then, the transmission / reception control unit 132 controls the usage status notification unit 131 at the timing of time t2 when the communicable time 305 has elapsed and asserts the communication status signal 501 and transmits a power saving cancellation notification to the wireless facing device 10. (S301). Thereby, the radio | wireless apparatus 2 stops BT communication, and the radio | wireless opposing apparatus 10 can transmit data. By repeatedly performing the above processing, communication between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 is performed in a time-sharing manner.

  If data transmission from the wireless device 10 (data reception of the wireless device 1) is not controlled, data may be transmitted from the wireless device 10 during communication of the wireless device 2. In addition, when the distance between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 10 is a long distance, the influence of power interference becomes more conspicuous and frame loss is likely to occur. For this reason, frame loss is likely to occur in data transmitted from the wireless device 10 during communication of the wireless device 2. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the BT communication is asynchronous communication and the communication environment of the WLAN communication is a long distance, data transmission from the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 is performed by time division. During the period in which the wireless device 2 can perform BT communication, transmission of data from the wireless device 10 is stopped. Thereby, since interference due to mutual communication is prevented, each communication quality can be kept high, and occurrence of frame loss in transmission data from the radio facing apparatus 10 can be reduced.

  Next, a case where the communication environment is a short distance will be described.

  When the BT communication by the wireless device 2 is asynchronous communication and the communication environment of the WLAN communication is a short distance, the transmission / reception control unit 132 performs priority according to the communication status signal 502 and the priority signal 503 of the wireless device 2. Take control. For example, when the communication timing of BT communication by the wireless device 1 and the communication timing of WLAN communication by the wireless device 2 overlap, the state monitoring unit 13 determines whether or not to continue communication of WLAN communication by the wireless device 2 according to the priority signal 503. Decide and instruct the transmission / reception control unit 132. Specifically, when the priority signal 503 is asserted (in the case of high priority), the state monitoring unit 13 instructs the transmission / reception control unit 132 to stop the WLAN communication of the wireless device 2. On the other hand, when the priority signal 503 is not asserted (when the priority is low), the state monitoring unit 13 instructs the transmission / reception control unit 132 to continue the WLAN communication of the wireless device 2. Whether or not the communication can be continued may be determined by the state monitoring unit 13 as described above, or by the transmission / reception control unit 132 that has received the detection results of the communication state signal 502 and the priority signal 503 from the state monitoring unit 13. May be.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a communication control method according to the communication state and priority of the wireless device 2.

  When the determination result of the communication environment of the WLAN communication received from the communication environment measurement unit 133 is a short distance, the transmission / reception control unit 132 first transmits a frame including the power saving cancellation notification to the wireless device 10 ( S401). The power saving cancellation notification may be transmitted by including the power saving cancellation notification in the initial transmission frame, for example, as in FIG. Thereby, the data transmission from the radio | wireless opposing apparatus 10 is attained. Thereafter, the transmission / reception control unit 132 controls the WLAN communication based on the instruction of whether or not the communication can be continued by the state monitoring unit 13 (S402). The specific control method in step 402 is as follows.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of data transmission timing in communication according to the communication state and priority of the wireless device 2.

  In the figure, after the power saving cancellation notification, the transmission / reception control unit 132 controls the usage status notification unit 131 at the timing of time t0 to assert the communication status signal 501 and start WLAN communication. Thereafter, when the wireless device 2 asserts the communication state signal 502 in order to perform BT communication at the timing of time t1 when the wireless device 1 is transmitting data 401 by WLAN communication, the state monitoring unit 13 of the wireless device 1 The communication status signal 502 is detected and the priority signal 503 is discriminated. At this time, since the priority signal 503 is not asserted, the state monitoring unit 13 instructs the transmission / reception control unit 132 to continue communication of WLAN communication. Upon receiving the instruction, the transmission / reception control unit 132 continues the WLAN communication and continues to assert the communication state signal 501 of the wireless device 1. Since the communication status signal 501 is not negated, the wireless device 2 once negates the previously asserted communication status signal 502 after a predetermined time has elapsed and does not perform BT communication. Thereafter, when the data transmission of the wireless device 1 ends at time t2 and the communication state signal 501 of the wireless device 1 is negated, the wireless device 2 asserts the communication state signal 502 again and transmits the data 402 by BT communication. Start. The wireless device 2 negates the communication status signal 502 when communication is completed at time t3. Further, in the period from the time t2 to t3 when the wireless device 2 performs communication, the wireless device 10 is permitted to transmit data by the above-described power saving cancellation notification. Send.

  Thereafter, the wireless device 1 again starts WLAN communication at time t4 and transmits data 405. At time t5 during transmission of the data 405, when the wireless device 2 performs communication, the communication state signal 502 is asserted, and when the priority signal 503 is asserted to request BT communication, the state monitoring unit 13 of the wireless device 1 is requested. Detects the communication status signal 502 and determines the priority signal 503. At this time, since the priority signal 503 is asserted, the state monitoring unit 13 instructs the transmission / reception control unit 132 to stop data transmission. Upon receiving the instruction, the transmission / reception control unit 13 stops data transmission and negates the communication status signal 501. Thereby, the BT communication by the wireless device 2 is started, and the data 406 is transmitted. The priority signal 503 is issued together with the communication status signal 502, and the issued ratio is set in advance in, for example, a register in the communication control unit 13, and the transmission / reception control unit 132 determines the priority signal according to the setting. 503 is issued.

  After that, when the BT communication of the wireless device 2 ends at time t6 and the communication state signal 502 and the priority signal 503 of the wireless device 2 are negated, the transmission / reception control unit 132 asserts the communication state signal 501 and the data 407 Send. Through the above processing, priority control according to the communication state and priority of the wireless device 2 is performed.

  When the distance between the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 10 is a short distance, the attenuation of transmission / reception power in WLAN communication is relatively small, so even if it receives power interference, its influence is small and frame loss may occur. The nature is low. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the BT communication is asynchronous communication and the communication environment of the WLAN communication is a short distance, even if the wireless device 2 is performing BT communication, the wireless opposite device 10 Do not stop sending data. Thereby, compared with the case where the data transmission from the radio | wireless opposing apparatus 10 is stopped during BT communication, the fall of a throughput can be suppressed. In addition, since the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 adjust the timing of performing their own communication according to the communication status of each other, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput as compared with the case of performing time division.

  As described above, according to wireless communication terminal 100 according to the present embodiment, wireless device 1 that performs WLAN communication analyzes the signal pattern of communication state signal 502 of BT communication by wireless device 2 to change the communication state. Understand and perform communication control of WLAN communication and BT communication based on it, reduce the occurrence of frame loss due to power interference, and suppress the degradation of lutte compared to the method of uniformly performing communication control in time division Can do. In addition, if communication control using a priority signal is performed, if the timing of frame transmission between BT communication and WLAN communication collides, WLAN communication is stopped by the priority signal of the wireless device 2 and frame loss may occur. However, as in the present embodiment, by performing the WLAN communication in the non-communication period 302 without uniformly performing the control by the priority signal, no frame loss occurs in the WLAN communication due to the issue of the priority signal. Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, not only data transmission from the radio communication terminal 100 but also data transmission from the radio facing device 10 is controlled, so that communication quality can be kept higher. In addition, since control of data transmission from the wireless device 10 is performed using the power saving function of the wireless device 1, for example, if WLAN communication is a wireless system of the IEEE 802.11 standard, an existing protocol is used. There is no need to prepare a new protocol for transmission control of the wireless device 10.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited thereto and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

  For example, in the present embodiment, a wireless communication terminal that performs wireless communication of IEEE 802.11 standard and wireless communication of Bluetooth standard has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not particularly limited, and the wireless communication terminal that performs wireless communication of another standard is used. Is also applicable.

  In the time-sharing control shown in FIG. 12, the communicable times 304 and 305 assigned to the BT communication and the WLAN communication can be dynamically changed without being fixed. For example, when the wireless device 2 performs streaming communication such as music with high communication frequency, the communication quality can be improved by increasing the communicable time 305 of the wireless device 2.

  In the wireless communication terminal 100 according to the present embodiment, the case where the wireless device 1 and the wireless device 2 are connected by three lines (501, 502, 503) is shown as an example. In this way, a configuration in which the two communication status signals 501 and 502 are connected to each other may be employed. In this case, in the control illustrated in FIG. 15, the state monitoring unit 12 does not determine the priority signal 503 and determines whether or not to continue communication based on the communication state signal 502.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Radio | wireless communication terminal 10, 20 Radio | wireless opposing apparatus 1, 2 Radio apparatus 3, 4, 6, 7 Antenna 5 Signal line 501 Signal line (communication status signal)
502 signal line (communication status signal)
503 Signal line (priority signal)
14, 16, 24 Input port 15, 25, 26 Output port 11, 21 RF unit 12, 22 Status monitoring unit 13 Communication control unit 131 Usage status notification unit 132 Transmission / reception control unit 133 Communication environment measurement unit 23 Communication control unit 231 Usage status Notification unit 232 Transmission / reception control unit 233 Priority notification unit 31A, 31B, 37A to 37C, 402, 406 Transmission data of wireless device 2 32A, 32B, 38A to 38C Transmission data of wireless device 20 33A, 33B, 35A to 35D, 401, 405, 407 Transmission data of wireless device 1 34A, 34B, 36A, 36B, 403, 404 Transmission data of wireless opposite device 10 301, 303, 305 BT communication period 302, 304 WLAN communication period

Claims (18)

A first wireless communication unit for performing first wireless communication using a first frequency band; and a second wireless communication unit for performing second wireless communication using a second frequency band. A wireless communication device,
The second wireless communication unit performs transmission and reception of data by the second wireless communication, and outputs a communication state signal indicating a signal pattern according to a communication state of the second wireless communication,
The first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication by analyzing a signal pattern of the communication state signal, and when the determination result is synchronous communication Is a wireless communication apparatus that transmits and receives data in a non-communication period in which communication in the synchronous communication is not performed in synchronization with the communication timing of the synchronous communication.   The first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is asynchronous communication by analyzing a signal pattern of the communication state signal, and the determination result is asynchronous communication The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein a data transmission / reception mode is determined according to a communication environment with the first wireless opposite device that is a communication target of the first wireless communication unit.   The first wireless communication unit measures the received signal strength or received signal quality of the first wireless communication, and if the measured received signal strength or received signal quality is greater than a predetermined threshold, the communication environment is The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication apparatus determines that the communication environment is good, and otherwise determines that the communication environment is bad. The first wireless communication unit asserts a notification signal when performing the first wireless communication,
The second wireless communication unit stops the second wireless communication when the notification signal is asserted,
When the determination result is asynchronous communication and the first wireless communication unit determines that the communication environment is bad, the first wireless communication unit performs time division on the first wireless communication and the second wireless communication. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the notification signal is controlled to be performed and it is determined that the communication environment is good, data is transmitted when the second wireless communication is not performed.   The first wireless communication unit further instructs the communication period in the synchronous communication to stop transmission of data from the first wireless device when the determination result is synchronous communication. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4.   The first wireless communication unit further includes the first wireless facing device when the second wireless communication is performed when it is determined that the determination result is asynchronous communication and the communication environment is bad. The wireless communication device according to claim 5, wherein the wireless communication device instructs to stop data transmission from the wireless communication device.   The wireless transmission according to claim 6, wherein the instruction to stop the data transmission is performed by transmitting a sleep signal indicating that the first wireless communication unit shifts to a power saving state to the first wireless device. Communication device. The second wireless communication unit further outputs a priority signal indicating that the second wireless communication is performed in preference to the first wireless communication;
The first wireless communication unit does not transmit data when the priority signal is asserted when it is determined that the determination result is asynchronous communication and the communication environment is good. Item 8. The wireless communication device according to Item 7.   The first wireless communication unit determines whether the second wireless communication is in a congested state before determining the synchronous communication and the asynchronous communication, and determines the second wireless communication The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein data transmission / reception is stopped when is in a congested state.   The first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is performed, and transmits and receives data at a desired timing when the second wireless communication is not performed. The wireless communication device according to claim 9. The communication status signal is a digital signal having a first value when communicating and a second value when not communicating,
The first wireless communication unit determines that the second wireless communication is not performed when the communication state signal does not reach the first value within a predetermined period, and When the total time of the period in which the communication state signal is the first value is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, it is determined that the second wireless communication is in a congested state, and the communication state is determined within the predetermined period. When the same signal pattern based on the period of the first value of the signal and the period of the second value is detected a plurality of times, it is determined that the second wireless communication is synchronous communication, The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second wireless communication is determined to be asynchronous communication in a case other than the above. A wireless communication device that performs first wireless communication using a first frequency band and second wireless communication using a second frequency band in which at least a part of the first frequency band overlaps,
A wireless communication device that, when performing the second wireless communication, instructs to stop data transmission from a wireless device that is a communication target of the first wireless communication.   The wireless communication device according to claim 12, wherein the instruction to stop the transmission of data is performed by transmitting a sleep signal indicating transition to a power saving state to the wireless device. A first wireless communication unit for performing first wireless communication using a first frequency band, and a second wireless communication using a second frequency band where at least a part of the first frequency band overlaps A wireless communication device having a second wireless communication unit for performing
The second wireless communication unit performs data transmission / reception by the second wireless communication, and is a first value when communicating and a second value when not communicating. Output a status signal,
The first wireless communication unit analyzes a signal pattern of the communication state signal within a predetermined period, and if the communication state signal does not become the first value within the predetermined period, the second wireless communication unit When it is determined that wireless communication is not being performed and the total time of the period in which the communication state signal is the first value during the predetermined period is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the second wireless communication is in a congested state If the same signal pattern based on the period that is the first value and the period that is the second value of the communication state signal is detected a plurality of times within the predetermined period, It is determined that the second wireless communication is synchronous communication, and in other cases, it is determined that the second wireless communication is asynchronous communication, and an operation mode of data transmission / reception is determined according to the determination result. , Wireless communication device.   When the first wireless communication unit determines that the asynchronous communication is performed, the first wireless communication unit measures the received signal strength or the received signal quality of the first wireless communication, and the measured received signal strength or received signal quality is predetermined. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 14, wherein if the communication environment is larger than the threshold, it is determined that the communication environment is good, and otherwise, it is determined that the communication environment is bad.   The wireless communication device according to claim 7, wherein the first wireless communication unit starts communication by transmitting a signal notifying power cancellation to the first wireless opposite device.   The wireless communication device according to claim 7, wherein the first wireless communication unit starts communication by transmitting a signal for requesting frame acquisition to the first wireless device. A first wireless communication unit for performing first wireless communication using a first frequency band, and a second wireless communication using a second frequency band where at least a part of the first frequency band overlaps A wireless communication device having a second wireless communication unit for performing
The second wireless communication unit performs transmission and reception of data by the second wireless communication, and outputs a communication state signal indicating a signal pattern according to a communication state of the second wireless communication,
The first wireless communication unit determines whether or not the second wireless communication is synchronous communication by analyzing a signal pattern of the communication state signal, and when the determination result is synchronous communication Is a wireless communication apparatus that transmits and receives data in a non-communication period in which communication in the synchronous communication is not performed in synchronization with the communication timing of the synchronous communication.

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